The nine firefighters killed in the Aug. 5 helicopter crash near Junction City will be honored this weekend at two ceremonies in two states.

The U.S. Forest Service will stage a celebration Saturday at the Redding Convention Center for James Ramage, 63, of Redding. Ramage, hired in 1984 as the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's first helicopter pilot, was working as a check pilot for the Forest Service aboard the Sikorsky S-61N that crashed and burned soon after lifting off from a remote mountain ridgetop.

On Friday morning, the Forest Service and the two private firms employing the deceased chopper co-pilot and seven contract firefighters will host a tribute for all nine crash victims. The tribute will be held in the Lithia Motors Amphitheater at the Jackson County Fairgrounds in Central Point, Ore., just north of Medford.

Copter co-pilot Roark Schwanenberg, 54, of Lostine, Ore., worked for Carson Helicopters, the Pennsylvania-based firm that owned the downed Sikorsky.

The remains of the nine killed in the crash arrived in Redding last weekend, Shasta County Coroner's secretary Mo Hern said. The coroner's office is trying to find dental records for the deceased men, and has sought the help of several local dentists, Hern said.

"There will be a small amount of time involved in this," Hern said, noting that the dentists must take time out of their schedules to help identify the bodies.

Four people survived the crash and are recovering.

Reporter Scott Mobley can be reached at 225-8220 or at smobley@redding.com